“Celebrated with family,” he said, his smile almost less crisp than his eyes. “But I need sleep. Gotta get some sleep.”

Austin Rivers, the Hornets’ second lottery selection as the No. 10 pick, didn’t fare much better.

“I got a little,” Rivers said. “It was a long night, but it is what it is.”

What it is, frankly, is a reason for Hornets fans to have joined the first-round picks in sleeplessness, their joy and enthusiasm contributing to the all-nighter.

Thursday night was a boon for the Hornets.

Along with second-round pick Darius Miller, who at pick No. 46 could prove to be a theft of the highest order, the Hornets might have taken a gigantic step toward becoming a force for a five- to seven-year window.

Absolutely, Thursday’s haul could prove to be just that good. In fact, it’s hard to imagine how New Orleans could’ve fared any better than it did, after walking away with two players (Davis and Rivers) it adores and one (Miller) it might love only slightly less.

True, all three picks still will have to put in the time and do the work to become NBA standouts or significant contributors. No matter how hard they previously have drilled or currently are working, they still have no idea how much more there is to do in order for them to become what they’re expected to become (though Rivers has a little more knowledge than his draft classmates, having a lot of time around NBA players because his father, Doc Rivers, has been an NBA head coach for 13 seasons, the last eight in Boston).

But it sure looks like the Hornets got three keepers.

Three ballers.

Three players who immediately should be able to help and should be significant contributors within three years — and Davis could be lethal by then — when they’ve grown stronger, comfortable with the NBA and could be the top collection of rookie picks in the league.

Davis was the no-brainer lock, the No. 1 player on every draft board, from the NBA franchise that inspects and grades every available prospect to the basement-dwelling second-guesser who thought Davis should’ve stayed at Kentucky another year.

Christmas arrived early with Rivers, the gunslinger whose confidence might endear or grate, depending on the day of the week. Because the feeling here is that the Hornets will benefit from his fearlessness and confidence, that his teammates will grow to appreciate his willingness to assume the responsibility of taking clutch shots.

And Miller simply is better than where he was picked. The lone senior in a Kentucky playing rotation that included Davis has a lot more game than people seem to believe. Like Davis, he already is an NBA-caliber defender, and like Rivers, he has NBA range. Unlike either, he already has an NBA body (6 feet 7, 233 pounds).

Now none of the wonderfulness of Thursday eliminates the fact that the Hornets still don’t have a center.

As much as I liked Rivers, the belief was that New Orleans would draft a center — need over best player available — because the hole was so glaring and no one on the free-agent market particularly was appealing.

It would’ve been logical, and few in New Orleans legitimately could have dissented, if the Hornets simply had chosen to try to solidify that position for the next decade by picking Tyler Zeller or Meyers Leonard.

But there certainly is no dissent from here for the franchise going in the direction it did with Rivers at No. 10.

“Potentially great” isn’t a bad alternative to “solidly productive.” Most times, Thursday night being one of them, it’s preferable to a franchise, and if we strictly are talking about skills, there’s no contest between Rivers and the centers as prospects.

Which is why he was the player picked by the Hornets, and he was boarding a jet bound for New Orleans at around 7:15 a.m. in New Jersey, sleep-deprived and loving it.

“It’s still kind of surreal,” Rivers said. “It hasn’t sunk in yet. Everything is still new to me. I’m just going to move forward and stay excited. I love New Orleans, love the city.”

Said Davis before takeoff: “It’s going to be crazy when we get to New Orleans.”

That, it will. And maybe, initially, it’ll include a couple more sleepless nights.

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John DeShazier can be reached at jdeshazier@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3410.